IT raids Riddi Siddhi Bullions for involvement in running Rs 25, 000 cr hawala ... - Economic Times

MUMBAI: The income-tax department carried out a series of raids across the premises of one of India's largest bullion dealers, RiddiSiddhiBullions (RSBL), and at the residence of its managing director on suspicion that the company has failed to report its full income to tax authorities. One of the reasons for the extensive raids across 40 premises, mostly in Mumbai, and involving 200 officials is the company's alleged involvement in huge hawala operations running to Rs 25,000 crore a year, according to tax officials who declined to be named. Hawala is remittance of unaccounted funds through illegal off-banking channels for a commission. The company's chief executive, however, termed it as a routine survey by the I-T department. According to the officials, they have obtained details of bogus imports and exports for which money has allegedly been sent abroad and received in India as well. The tax department is examining the modus operandi of the alleged hawala operations and the structure of the network used for the operations. Rumours were rife in Zaveri Bazaar, Mumbai's wholesale gold market, that the raids were connected with the company's alleged involvement in managing "illegal" funds generated during the Indian Premier League cricket matches. However, a tax official said the raids were not linked to IPL. "But, we cannot rule out the possibility of detecting any IPL link during the course of the investigations," an official said. RSBL MD Prithviraj Kothari, was not present during the raids, according to tax officials. In response to an email query, Kothari wrote, "This is a routine income-tax survey, which does not have any connection with the IPL at all. This survey is being done across various companies in Mumbai and not only at RSBL. My humble request to the media is to please not publish any such news, which creates a negative impression of a company, whom people trust so much. We have put in a lot of hard work to build the reputation of this organisation and people look up to us today! Till there is clear clarification from income-tax officials, I will not be able to comment on any of your questions. My prime responsibility as of now is to make sure that there is full co-operation from my end to the income-tax authorities." Kothari is a well-known figure in the gold market. He founded RiddiSiddhi Bullions in 1994. The company sells gold, silver and platinum bars to jewellers and coins to retail investors. Over 90% of its bullion sales take place through RSBL Spot, an electronic over-thecounter (OTC) delivery-based bullion-trading system. It is also an authorised participant with all the gold ETFs traded on exchanges, creating and redeeming ETF units. The company's website says RSBL is India's largest bullion trading company and has a credit rating of SME 1 from CRISIL, the highest on the SME rating scale. The company's promoters have a combined experience of over 100 man-years in the industry. Copyright © 2013 Times Internet Limited. All rights reserved. via Business - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNExGA8isLsz1dfMglMe8Acp5o7i7g&url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/finance/i-t-raids-riddi-siddhi-bullions-for-involvement-in-running-rs-25-000-cr-hawala-operations/articleshow/20548194.cms

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